


from the start line to the end

by chromologix



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Gen, Gloria/Victor is just Faust, another self indulgent fic, bc there's virtually none, honestly can be read without the romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21805429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chromologix/pseuds/chromologix
Summary: A following of my SWSH trainer, Faust, from the eyes of Hop.And also his own journey through the gym challenge.Doesn't go too in-depth with game story, but spoiler warning anyhow.
Relationships: Hop (Pokemon)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't know how to place my trainer, Faust. So I figured writing it from Hop's POV would make things easier.  
> Funnily enough, I still don't know. But I gained an appreciation for him as a character so ;w; not a total loss!
> 
> It's not done, will it be? Who knows, but I had fun writing this.

Postwick is not a big town.

It's stationed at the corners of Galar, far from the big cities of Motostoke and Hammerlocke, hidden deep within sleepy woodlands with trees that whisper secrets. (It's honestly not that mystical, if you don't count the weald.)

The most interesting thing about it is the Wooloo ranches. Fluffy clouds populate the grass fields, gliding across them when a farmer comes by with feed.

(Again, this is not counting the weald. But you do not talk about it. Not in Postwick.)

In any case, the point is. Postwick is small.  
It's stuck in a pocket of time where the wind sings old songs and the air is filled with Rookidee calls.  
And you're probably going to know everyone in town.

Hop prides himself in that. (Even if, admittedly it's not a hard thing to do. But Leon praised him for it once so it must mean something.)

He knows about how the family down the lane had just welcomed a baby girl-- Sofie was her name-- into their lives.  
He knows about the old lady who stays on the outskirts of town, in a cottage so frozen in time one must wonder how long it has been there.

He also knows, that the household next to his just moved back from Alola.

He had heard the truck arrive sometime in the early hours of the morning, and when he wakes he tells his mother their neighbors are back.  
She lights up when she hears the news but doesn't make a move to their house.

"They must be tired after their flight, dear. We can greet them when they're ready."

But she sends a text anyway when Hop retreats to tell his grandparents that _their neighbors are back!!_

It has been five years.

Hop only has hazy memories of the kid who lived next door. He-- They? He was never sure, he should ask. They were quiet.

But they were also his first friend, and that's a pretty important position in Hop's opinion.  
He can't say he missed them too much, since they were only kids when they first met-- still are kids, just a little older.

And five years to a child is a lifetime.

So when his mum finally brings him over to their house, he jumps around, excited, ready to reintroduce himself to the kid he was friends with once upon a time.

The door opens, and momentarily that anticipation is squandered when two ladies look down at him.  
They're smiling and squealing about how much he has grown, and with his mum adding on about just how "he can't wait to meet" their kid.

He takes a step back self consciously, but that's forgotten when he sees a pair of blank, shy eyes regarding him from behind their mothers' legs.

And immediately, he beams and says: "Hi, Faust!"

\---

Faust, he quickly learns, doesn't talk too much.

They nod when he rambles about trainer school, watches when he practices throwing pokeballs at the target range and sits by as he wrangles the Wooloo into a decent pack for the farmer to gather after their Yamper took an off day.

He feels like he's being watched by a Natu. Blank, dark eyes that observe his every movement, analyzing, like a puzzle to solve.

Hop doesn't know what it's about until they ask, finally:  
"Are you friends with me because my mums asked you to be?"

It catches him way off guard. He whips around so fast it surprises them ("so they CAN be shocked" he noted, dully).

"What? Of course not, I'm friends with you because I want to be."

They open their mouth, but he's already on a roll.

"I mean, you're my first friend. I think that's cool. I don't know if you remember, but we used to play a lot together, so why would that change now that you're back?"

Faust gapes at him, something sparking in the deepest recesses of their dark eyes.  
It pushes Hop to ask a question of his own.

"Why'dcha ask?"

They hesitate before replying.  
"My mums keep egging me make new friends, since we're staying here for good now. Not like I had much back in Alola either. But um." They tack on with an unconvincing shrug. "It's no big deal, I guess."

"Okay." Sounds simple enough. "Then it's settled!"

"What is?"

"I'm your first friend in the long list that you'll have, starting now!"

Faust gives him a look. "What makes you think I want friends?"

He pales, freezing. "You don't?"

"No, it's just that I already have my hands full with you, how am I going to handle even more?"

At this, he smiles.  
"Well, then you'll just have to deal, right?"

\---

Faust, decidedly, makes more friends in Trainer school. Not as close as Hop is, but friends nonetheless.

And now, when Hop practices his ball throwing, they pick up a mock pokeball, eyes the target, and shoots.

\---

Leon is a topic of a lot of their conversations.

Mostly because Hop can never stop gushing about his brother and his achievements; who can blame him really, Lee is just that amazing.

And Faust only tolerates it because they, too, are enamored by the legend.

Winning the Championship at 10 years old and maintaining that title well into his teens?  
He was Galar's pride.

They watch his exhibition matches together, enraptured by the movements of his pokemon, how they reigned over the battlefield with an iron fist and how each move was two steps ahead of his opponents.  
They never realize how they play into his hands, like an elaborate game of chess, until it's too late.

Faust listens to Hop recount the whole match, analyzing his brother's strategy and how it was just so ingenious when he says it.

"We're going to be there, one day."  
"In that stadium, we'll take Galar by storm too, I just know it!"

The thought isn't that far-fetched, now. They'll be graduating Trainer school soon. In two years they'll get their license, and then their starters.

If they time it right, they'll be able to enter the Gym Challenge too. A tad rushed, but Hop is confident that between the two of them, nothing could go wrong.

"I want to be the one to finally beat Lee, he's warmed the Champion seat long enough. Imagine that, getting dethroned by his own brother!"

Faust smirks, nudging him with their shoulder.  
There's a hint of competition in them, the hard glint of determination he now knows burns deep within.

"Not if I get there first." They state.

\---

The first time they're confronted by the idea of romance was when one of their friends raised it up.

Hop just turned down an offer to tag along for lunch, opting instead to wait for Faust who was still packing up.

"You need more time with your datemate or something? We'll leave you two alone then." Their friend laughs with a wink.

Hop rolls his eyes. "Knock it off, would you? That's not--"

He turns to Faust for support, as he always does.  
And stops short.

They still held their pencil case, motioned stopped halfway as of they were about to put it in their bag. Their face was alight, flushed red with...embarrassment? Looking vaguely scandalized, and not looking at either of them--

 _Cute._ Hop thinks, before his own cheeks start to heat.

Their friend snickers and waves a hasty goodbye, saying they'll wait at the table for both of them.

"Nosy prick, that one." He mutters under his breath, but he waits for Faust to shove the remainder of their belongings into their bag.

Faust pauses in an effort to regain their composure.  
"Don't think anything of it, it's no big deal."

Hop only nods, the strange air between them still sparking. It fades later on once they're out of the classroom, but Hop still lingers on the image of Faust blushing, and wonders what about it was so interesting to him.

\---

Crushes aren't a new concept to either of them.

Hop has been there for Faust's fixation of Raihan, (admittedly he had a celeb crush on him too until Lee started going out with him-- cuz that'll be kinda weird.)  
He's seen Faust turn down confessions too, been there for the aftermath as they ride out the jitters.

And vice versa is the same.  
Faust watched him fawn over crushes left and right, before it dissipates as puppy love does. It doesn't happen that often, he wants to say, but he clings onto praises like it's god-sent validation.

They've talked about it before, obviously. Faust never seemed interested in relationships though, and Hop was too concentrated on being the best trainer he can be.

But it's not like it's a rare thought.

Hop _has_ thought about the pair of them before.  
He's 15, he's new to the idea of commitment but he's not dumb.

It's in the realm of possibility that they'd be interested in each other. They have good chemistry, they've been together for a long time.

He entertained the thought once, indulging in the what-ifs. But it's always been blurry; because the idea of dating seems so odd with Faust in the picture.

That's just not...them. Not cafe dates or movie nights, not aquarium visits or fancy restaurants.  
If it's with Faust, he thinks, nothing would change much from what they do now.

Does that mean something?

Hop tries to picture it, but at the moment the thought is too daunting, too new to fully wrap his head around.  
He's not even sure if he likes them that way.

So he shoves the thought to the back of his mind and concentrates on the things he can do right now.

\---

The tender age of 16 arrives before they know it, and they have mint condition license cards in their pockets.

Hop and Faust take a picture of them together when they graduate, because their mums asked them to.

He shares a look with Faust, and they give him an equally eager smile back, dark eyes dancing with a promise.

Their starters. And then the Gym Challenge.

\--

Because it's a competition, because it's a race (well, kind of, but Hop treats it as one) they agreed to make it on their own.

Every trainer for themselves! In a way.

Faust takes it in stride as they always do, a Drizzile by their side, lazy in the same way that his trainer is.

How it already evolved before the first gym, Hop isn't too sure. Faust smells like fresh grass and has hints of sand on their uniform, arms and legs full of scratches like they've been crashing through thickets and-- well, he guesses he got his answer.

Hard work, but it's so like Faust to make it seem effortless.

Hop wants to say it came at a surprise how fast his friend was growing, because they've never indicated too much interest in actually being a strong trainer.

It's not just a surprise.  
It's a freaking bomb of a shock.

He has always been one step ahead of them, running further and waiting for them to arrive at the gates of towns. 

Somehow he thought that just because he got it faster, it must mean some kind of strength.

But it's decidedly not, because Faust blazes a trail with a ferocity he never knew existed inside them.  
And as quickly as it appeared, it dissipates and they're walking out of the stadium with an easy stride and hands in their pockets.

 _"No big deal."_ Their usual catchphrase echoes.

No big deal indeed, they just decimated top trainers of the region like it was their due.  
(Perhaps it was.)

He may be faster, but the gap between their abilities widen, and suddenly it occurs to Hop that, maybe, the back he should be chasing isn't Leon's, but Faust.

\---

Faust makes a name for themselves.  
So does Hop, but he doesn't hear the cheers.

He defeats another Gym Leader, Melony, thanks her for the battle and runs off to find them.  
Because Faust has been the person he was never able to defeat.

The people in front of him line up, goals upon unachievable goals stacking.

There were Marnie and Bede, they were strong competitors for sure.  
(Bede, in particular, he can't wait to beat, because _boy_ does he have a score to with that smarmy cotton candy bastard.)  
There was Leon, who was always atop a high pedestal, so far from reach.

And then there was Faust.  
Someone who was by his side once, at the same starting line.  
Where he had all the advantages, the strategies, the pokemon. He had the head start.

But they started running, and suddenly Faust is climbing to a level that he can see strays further from him and inches closer, closer, and closer to Leon.

The unattainable, the impossible. 

And they're in reach.

Hop wonders, as he fills in footsteps made by those ahead of him.  
If he'll ever match up.

\---

Not too long ago, Bede said something to him.

About hiding behind Faust and Lee's strength, and nothing of his own to show.

Hop's first reaction was indignance. 

Faust had put a firm hand on his shoulder to pull him back, muttering a low: "don't let him get to you." In his ear.

They never stop him from doing anything unless they think it's a really bad idea.

But that too, stung, that Faust would think he couldn't fight Bede.  
Faust was his rival, right? If he's their greatest challenge, then Bede wouldn't be a problem.

So he shrugs them off and reiterates that he wants a battle.

Faust regards him with a worried look, one that stirs something ugly deep in his gut, before nodding and making their way to Hammerlocke.

He lost.

So he guesses, in retrospect, he should have listened to them.  
They're right, after all.

Always was.

\---

Hop ends up running a lot.

He changes his team make-up frantically, testing type combinations and move sets, to the point of micromanaging _who's best at offense, who's the speediest, what pokemon team would hone in on the Faust's weaknesses and lay them all out._

It was exhausting, and being beat by Faust again tangles his wires further.

It must have been written on his face, how flustered he had been.

Because they dragged him to camp with them.

Okay, they asked. But it felt like a command and he was too tired to make another excuse to bolt.

He already cried in front of Lee, he doesn't know what he'd do if Faust had to see his sordid state too.

Curiously, they don't raise any questions about why he's so, him, lately.  
Instead he's strung into their pace, following them as they hunt for berries and helping them cook curry, handing out plates to all of their famished pokemon.

No training, no regiment. Just a straight-up camp day.

Hop finds himself so lost in meager work that he almost forgets why he was so troubled in the first place.

And then, it clicked.  
That this might have just been a giant ploy to make him feel better.

He asks Faust exactly that, and they give him a hard no.

Welp, figures.

Instead, they say that it's been too long since they hung out as friends.

"I missed that." They said, not really looking at him.  
"This whole challenge has been fun, but I've been thinking about home lately."

"Then why not go back?" He asked.

Their answer comes easily.  
"Because part of home is with you, too."

\--

Hop thinks he got a grasp on things.

Gotta get his game face back on at some point, right?

And it must be apparent, because the next time he sees Faust again, there's something akin to relief in their posture when he battles them again, with the same energy as his first fights.

\--

The semifinals come at him at startling speed, and he's in the last match, facing off Faust from the other side of the field.

They regard him with an honest resolve, burning with a determination that got them so, so far.

Faust blazes like a supernova star and Hop wants to spark his own flame.

Ignite them to the point that it engulfs the whole stadium.

\---

They battle. Eyes on each other.

The whole time beaming, with a soul that's alight with burning desire.

Hop thinks about all that brought them up to this point, dreams about being champion, to mark their names in Galar history, to go down like legends and have their stories told for generations to come.

A dream so close to becoming a reality for one of them. And one alone.

He's been chasing the back of someone who used to be by his side. He had come so far.

It's now or never, to see if he can pull ahead, even by the smallest margin.

Even if it's by a millimeter, if he can get past Faust, it meant that he had _grown._

\---

Faust wins.

\---

The frustration and anger that washes over him is hard to reel back in. He knows it's showing on his face, but he doesn't care.

Because he was so damn close, it was within reach.  
And Faust, Faust was-- it's always--

It's always them.

Faust watches from across the battlefield, lights dancing in those dark, black eyes that are usually so carefully blank.

Worry starts to crack their expression and--

Wait, _wait wait no that's not how this is suppose to go._

He takes a moment to collect himself, looks them in the eye and says.

"I'm glad it was you."

Because it's the truth, that Faust was that one that made him want, that made him realize how much he _wanted_ this to happen.

He doesn't expect them to run and bowl him over in a crushing hug.

His hands are raised, hovering uncertainly over their back, he vaguely registers how the crowd goes wild.  
But he quickly returns their embrace.

They don't say anything, too overwhelmed with emotion, but the grip of their fingers pulling the back of his shirt says it all.

_Thank you. Thank you. Thank you._

\--

The rest of the day is a whirlwind.

Hop herds reporters away from Faust like the Wooloo back at home, waits for Leon to show up at the hotel lobby.

He doesn't come.

\--

_  
The rest of the day, and the next, is a--_

_It's a..._

_...  
It's a mess.  
_

\--

It's a mutual agreement that they're not sleeping alone that day.

Hop drags his duvet into their room, nudging aside hastily thrown luggage with his foot.  
Faust watches through dark eyes shadowed with exhaustion.

"That was nuts." They state, as he flops onto his makeshift bed.

"No kidding." He replies, too drained to really gush about just how cool or insane (or terrifying) everything that happened was.

Legends descending, space distorting.  
The sort of things you hear in myths.

And they lived through it, they had front row seats to the fight and _joined in on it._

For now, he guesses, he's glad to be alive.

Faust rolls a pokeball back and forth in their hands, it takes him a moment to realize that it's _Eternatus'_ ball.  
Hop wants to make a comment asking if that's safe, but the look on their face stops him.

Instead, he tells them.

"You're a hero, Faust."

They actually scoff, a little bitter.

"I don't feel like one." They say, before attaching the pokeball to their belt.


	2. Extras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippets I didn't know where to put in, so I left it out and wrote them as one thing.

"That your partner?"

Hop blinks, not understanding. "Huh?"

Bede huffs, gesturing an offending thumb towards the direction Faust took towards.  
"Are you guys dating?"

"You're-- _That's_ your concern??? And no, they're my _rival_! _WHY_ would you want to know???"  
He splutters, too taken aback to form a proper retort.

"With the way you're always wagging your tail at them, I assumed so. Now, don't mistake that for interest." Bede raises a placated hand as if that'll calm him, which really doesn't work.  
"It's just, it's such a pity they're stuck with you, huh?"

Hop gapes at him, anger clogging words in his throat.  
Bede continues, a knowing glint in his eyes. (He doesn't know a _damn thing_ about both of them, how dare he--)

"I really don't get why they keep you around when you're hardly more than experience fodder for them."  
"Has it ever occurred to you they battle you out of pity?"

He stops short, frozen.

Bede tilts his head, smirk absolutely poisonous. He struck a nerve.

"They're clearly more powerful, I don't see how you challenge them in any way. It's hardly a rivalry, don't you think?"

"Are you going to keep yapping or are you going to battle, _mate?_ "  
Hop almost snarls. 

Bede only widens his grin, detaching a pokeball from his belt.

"So impatient, for someone so insignificant." He comments lightly, a red flash revealing the form of a Reuniclus.

\---

That _hurt_.

A lot.

Hop runs to the Pokemon Center, scattering his pokeballs across the counter to a startled nurse.  
The defeat stung, of course. But that's not the main chord that struck hard.

Whatever Bede said had a semblance of truth in them.  
Leon and Faust had always been kind, but that doesn't matter because he was weak.

He's not blind. He can see it in the way Faust directs their pokemon in battle.

They pull back punches to let him feel like he gets the upper hand sometimes.  
He sees their pokemon pause to take a hit when he knows for certain they can move so much faster than that.

They avoid type advantages, they pit disadvantaged pokemon types against his. They don't use potions and they keep their attacks light enough that his pokemon don't go down in one hit.

And their face--

Hop has been friends with them for years, their nuances are as clear as day to him.

Faust always holds a tight, concentrated look when he asks for a battle.  
He sees them fake surprise when he gains the upper hand, he watches as they guise concern with thoughtfulness, as if they were strategizing when _clearly they know how exactly to win._

It frustrates him to no end, because they never took him seriously.

_If they're holding back, then what was the point of all he has done so far?_

His pokemon too, were unsatisfied. They get quiet after battles like that, indignant that the opponent took pity on them.

Hop walks out of the Pokemon Center in a hasty retreat, running to the nearest inn and locking the door of his room behind him.

_What was the point of it all?_

He asks no one, hot tears burning behind his eyes.  
Hand raised in an attempt to stop them, but they fall, and he succumbs.

\---

Faust eyes his new team with a sense of unease.  
Their Inteleon, and all of their team, seemed puzzled by the change, but follow Fausts' command anyway.

Hop thought that having a fresh new start and gathering all his knowledge of team strategies would help, since nothing he's done up to that point seemed right. 

But that proves to be false, because Faust beats him again.  
New Pokemon and all.

"I guess I have to try something else then!" He says cheerily. Neither Faust nor he thinks he sounds convincing.

The subsequent teams he puts against Faust share the same fate, and with each battle their expression grows darker, and darker.

Frustrated.

They're frustrated about something.

 _You and me both, mate._ He thinks dully.

"Hop, I think--"

"Oh, I got to go! Promised to get something for Lee, I'll see you again at Hammerlocke, okay?"

Faust doesn't make a move to stop him from leaving, though they regard him with caution.

It doesn't settle well in his chest.  
As if he was fragile ware that needs to be handled with care.

He ignores their gaze, because he knows Faust is trying to decipher what the fuck is going on with him.  
And truthfully?

They're the last person he wants to find out.

So he runs off, leaving them to bite his dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't be the only one feeling weird when he switched up his team, right.


	3. Extras (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faust and their habit of fiddling with their hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As it goes, I'll probably just add whatever snippets didn't fit in.  
> My works tend to be a bit scattered haha, so whatever follows is probably more slice of life-ish

Faust fiddles with their hair when they're nervous.

It's always a small gesture; a quick fix of their fringe, worrying a strand between their fingers, excessively combing through them like there's something out of place.

Hop once thought it was out of vanity; Faust _did_ enjoy looking good (and they do, effortlessly).  
Though it became increasingly clear as the Gym Challenge progressed.

He didn't note it too much at first, too lost in his own worries to notice. Then it came out more and more until the semifinals were upon them and --

"I need to go."

They breathed out, voice trembling.  
He had never heard them sound like that before.

Marnie blinked at them, surprised. Hop opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but they turned around abruptly and walked briskly out the door.

He only got out in time to see a Corviknight take off with Faust on it's back.

Marnie followed him, eyes trailing the black dart in the sky.   
"Last minute jitters, perhaps?" She ventures.

"But it's _Faust._ " He says like it would explain everything.

She shrugs. "Even the strong get anxious before a performance. I'm sure you've seen your bro like that at least once."

Truthfully, Hop can't remember the last time Lee ever seemed nervous. That aside:

"I'll text them then. The registration will be open for a few days yet, they'll have time." He reassures, though to whom exactly he's not sure.

Marnie nods, expression pensive, but she turns to head to the counter anyway.

.

Two days later, Faust returns with no small amount of scratches and dirt on their face to register for the Semifinals, just shy a few hours before applications closed.

Marnie and Hop don't say anything, though they exchange a relieved glance.

\---

Faust plays with a stray strand of hair that loosened from their bun.  
A month after they won the Championship, it has grown long enough that it could be tied up.

"You ready for the exhibition matches?" Hop asks.  
They're at the battle cafe in Wyndon, in a seat at the back of the store as per request. (The manager was used to celebrities needing the privacy, and they're glad for the suite.)

"Yeah." They answered distractedly. Faust started twirling the strand around their finger, letting it go, and twirling again.  
Hop follows the movement.

"I wish I could enter this time, so that we'll both be in the pitch together."

They glance at him, hands stalling and a small, genuine smile playing on their lips.  
"That would have been nice." They say. "But it's okay, I'll just do the same thing I always do."

"What's that?"

"Win."

Hop snorts and their smirk grows wider, before it falls again. Their fingers twitch and they reach to fix their fringe again--

"Did you do something to your nails?"

Faust's hand freezes. Hop doesn't know why his words just _fly out of his mouth impulsively._  
But they lower their hand and splay out their fingers to look at them.

"Sonia painted them after I told her all I ever used was dark nail polish." They grimace, before turning their hands to him so he can see. "It's nice I guess."

Their nails are decorated with a simple, clear coat with gold glitter. Discreet enough to not be glaringly noticeable, but it sheens when you're looking at it.

"It's pretty. I think it suits you." He comments. He doesn't really know where to lead with this conversation; not exactly his forte as to what looks nice in makeup. But it distracted Faust so.

Hop takes their hand and gingerly turns it from one side to another, admiring the gleam as light hits the gold flecks.   
Faust doesn't say a word when he does so, and it's not until after an uncomfortable stretch of silence that he realizes that this might be a bit inappropriate.

"Um, sorry. Here's your hand back." He tells them sheepishly, letting go of it.   
Faust doesn't immediately pull away, but the tuck their hand back when they cross their arms.   
( Something about the way their fingers brush lightly over his was, strange. A good sort, he guesses. Different.)

"Thanks." They mumbled, attempting to look miffed even though Hop can very clearly see the pink dusting on their cheeks.  
(It's another sight he keeps seeing; not that he minds.)

Hop finds himself stumped, feeling very well that this atmosphere (he's not dumb he knows what it could be) could be furthered if he said something right.

But he's not sure yet, and Faust doesn't seem ready.  
So he settles instead with:

"I wonder if Sonia will let me raid her nail polish collection too. I would rock some pretty nails."

He earns a snicker from Faust, shoulders losing their tension.

"Sure you will. You'll be the next fashionable scientist after her in no time." They tease.

Both of them keep at it, and Hop feels a flicker of pride to see Faust enter the stadium less stiff than they were before.

\---

Faust thrives in the Wild area.

Hop knows they retreat into it when things get too hectic, city life too busy for someone who's used to the quiet of the country.

"I only can go to sleep where the Rookidee calls and the Blipbugs sing."   
They once told him, as they left Motostoke in the evening, under their arms a folded tent and cooking supplies.

Hop can't say he relates. Sure, he was used to sleepy town Postwick too; the soft snoring of his Wooloo like a lullaby at this point.  
But the extent that Faust goes to just to stay outside?

Insane.

But he sees that it hardens them and their pokemon, so he tries it out himself.  
(It's not glamorous, with how the Dynamax dens whip up terrible weather conditions one side of the lake to another.)  
(At least his cooking is improving.)

Running into them in the Wild Area is a hit or miss; Faust manages to get into the deep crevices of the landscape, emerging from dens with their clothes scratches up and hair tussled.  
Sometimes he sees some mess of a person approach his camp and he has half the mind to set his Cinderace on them until he realizes that's Faust, covered in sand, ice and soot.

"Do you have a spare Leppa berry, I need to make curry." They ask.

"Faust, what the fuck." He tells them.

On the rare occasions they managed to camp together (after Faust dragged him to crash with them the time he was moping), Hop manages to catch bits and pieces of them he never got to before.

Quietly, he slots more points down in his "Faust Behaviour Manual", because Arceus dammit, they don't speak about themselves ever.

They don't shuffle with their hair here.  
It's all tied back so it won't get in the way of their vision, easier to manage when walking into sand storms and snow.   
They roam the wilderness with confidence, slowing as they approach wild pokemon, ignoring the ones they know won't kick up a fuss if they're too near.

There's ease in their movements, nothing showy like how they are around people. Faust tends to be calculative around humans, but the honesty they carry themselves with out here?  
It's refreshing.

He asks them about it one day, while fishing. 

Faust took a while to form their thoughts, as if it never quite occurred to them before.

"It's quiet out here." They said. "Calmer, slower. It gives me a place to breathe when everything else goes too fast."

Hop wonders if he ever moves too fast for them.

But Faust seems content to live out in the wild with their pokemon, and he's just glad they allowed him to be company.


End file.
